Weaving of coiled wire fabrics and machine therefor



H. A. FRASER AND P. F. CRIGHTON. WEAVING 0F COILED WIRE FABRICS AND MACHINETHEREFOR.

APPLICATION FILEILAUG-ZT, 19-2]- memm Oct. M 1922..

' 3SHEETS-SHEET'I.

H. A. FRASER AND P. F. BRIGHTON. WEAVING 0F COILED WIRE FABR'CS AND MACHINE THEREFOR.

APPLICATION FILED MIG-2?, l92l- Patented Oct. W

. I/I V/ VA )l 0 Mm.

H. A. FRASER AND P. F. BRIGHTON.

WEAVING 0F COILED WIRE FABRICS AND MACHINE THEREFOR. APPLICATION FILED AUG.27, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Patented Uct. lfl, THEE,

hddhtat t learner .HENRY ARTHUR FRASER AND PETER FREDERICK CRIGHTON, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

WEA'VING OF GOILED WIRE FABRICS AND MACHINE THEREFOR.

Application filed August 27, 1921.. Serial No. 495,986.

1'0 trllwhom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY ARTHUR Fnasnn and Pnrne FREDERICK GRIGI-ITON, subjects of the King of Great Britain, residing at 13, /Vharf Road, N. 1. London, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in the Weaving of Coiled Wire Fabrics and Machines Therefor, of which the following is a specification. l

This invention relates to machines for weaving plain coiled wire fabrics such, for instance, as are used for mattresses, and to machines of the kind having mechanism for coiling and severing the wire to form the strands and provided witha pair'of parallel horizontal rollers having longitudinal flutes, grooved 0 ribs designed to grip the fabric between them and capable of rotary andlon= gltudinal movement so that the TELlOllC posed toarrange the grooved or fluted rollers with their axes in a horizontal plane and so that the last made coil or strand of the fabric is gripped between twoof the opposed grooves of the rollers andheld in this position whilst the next coil or strand is run into it above the rollers which are rotated to feed the fabric downwardly. This arrangement, however, possesses the defect that the end. of the running in coil or strand will, owing to gravity, be likely to foul the upper edges of the opposed grooves of the grooved rollers gripping the last made coil, even if the said end does not foul the end of one or other of the said rollers, which it has a tendency to do.

The object of our invention is to obviate the said disadvantages and to this end we arrange the parallel grooved or fluted rollers for gripping and positioning the fabric one above the other, and in such a position with respect to the coiling mechanism that r the last made coil or strand with which the running in coil engages is next to the coil gripped by the said rollers and is held rigld by such gripping action, means belng provided for supporting the running in coils when engaging the said last made coil and means for assisting to feed the fabric in correspondence with the rotary feed movement of the grooved rollers in the event of the the controlling lever.

said rollers not extending the full length of the fabric.

In a suitable construction of machine, coiling mechanism is provided in which the feed rollers therefor preserve a constant relation and are intermittently driven from a pulley through the medium of clutch mechanism, hereinafter termed the main clutch. This clutch is operated by a lever, hereinafter termed the controlling lever, connected to another lever,-the said controlling lever being maintained inthe operative position by a catch against the pull of a spring. This catch is disengaged from the controlling lever to stop the feed rollers of the coiling mechanism by a rack bar which is caused to move longitudinally by gearing driven by another clutch mechanism which is itself thrown into gear by the controlling lever simultaneously with the main clutch, means being employed whereby the duration of its movement to strlke the catch can be varied according to the length of coil or strand required; I, y

The said rollers are carried on centres in claw frames or housings hinged together and drawn towards one another by springs and supported upon a slide designed to impart longitudinal movement to the said rollers by a lever from a suitable cam. This cam is carried. upon a shaft operable by a wheel through the medium of worm-gear, the said wheel being driven by the driving pulley of .the machine by a friction pulley or roller moved into contact with the belt thereon by means such as toggle levers operated by The said shaft also carries-a cam for imparting the required intermittent rotary or feed motion to the positioning rollers through the medium of lever and ratchet and pawl mechanism. Two more cams are carried upon the said shaft, one for-effecting the severing of the wire or wires through the medium of lever mechanism and the other for effecting the operation of the controlling lever so as to oper ate the main clutch. This latter operation is effected by the lever connected to the controlling lever and hereinbefore referred to on to which is dropped a weight supported by acord or the like wound upon a sleeve For starting the machine we arrange a lever hereinafter termed the starting lever designed, when in its normal position, to hold the controlling lever in an intermediate position but which, when moved, allows the said controlling lever to be moved by a spring so as to place the friction pulley or roller hereinbefore described into position to drive the shaft carrying the cams. This starting lever is held in the starting or running position against the pull of a spring by a pivoted latch which can be released to stop the machine either directly by hand, or electrically by a solenoid controlled by a short circuiting device operated by the coiled wire becoming deformed the core of the solenoid being connected by a rod to the said latch.

To enable the invention to be fully understood, we will describe it by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a plan of a machine constructed according to the invention for manufac turing or weaving coiled wire fabrics and Figure 2 is an elevation of a portion of the same.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-3, Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a view of the right hand side of the machine and Figure 5 is a sectional view of a part of the opposite side thereof.

Figure 6 is a rear view of the machine and.

Figures 7, 8 and 9 are respectively vertical sections on the line 7-7, 88, and 99, of Figure 6, certain parts being omit ted from each of these figures for the sake of clearness.

Figure 10 is an elevation of a portion of the frame of the machine showing some of the bearings.

Figure 11 is an enlarged section on the line 1ll1, Figure 1, illustrating clearly the positioning rollers.

Figure 1.2 is an elevation showing the falling weight and lever operated thereby.

Figure 13 is a section of a modified form of positioning roller.

Figure 14 is a sectional view of one of the friction clutches.

Figure 15 is a view of a piece of coiled wire fabric of single ply plain weave as made by the machine and Figures 16 and 17 are views illustrating different stages in its manufacture.

Figure 18 is a diagram illustrating the order of working of the cams employed to effect this plain weave.

a is the frame or base of the machine provided with three standards a a a Between the standards a a are arranged the feed rollers for the coiling mechanism and comprising the upper plain roller 3) and the lower grooved roller 6 the peripheries of which rollers revolve nearly in contact with one another. The said rollers are geared together so as to run at equal speeds by means of rings of spur teeth c is the wire to be coiled and which is drawn from a spool in the usual. way and may be in one, two or more plies, the said wire or wires lying in the groove 0' in the roller and being gripped therein by pressure of the top roller 6 thereon, and fed into the coiling die 0 of usual or known form. The top roller 6 is supported upon a shaft cl carried in bush bearings 0, c in the standards a a, respectively. The bush 0 is held in position in a recess a in the standard a and is pressed upon its upper part by a rubber block (2 to which pressure can be imparted by set screws 0* through the medium of a plate a the said screws passing through the cap 0. The bearing 6 is supported in a recess 0 in the standard a" and can be adjusted therein through the medium of set-screws e to impart the necessary pressure to the wire 0 (or wires). A rubber block a is advantageously ipterposed between the bush 0 and a covering cap 0 connected to the upper part of the standard a. The roller 0 is supported on a shaft 7' arranged in bearings in the standards a a and designed to be rotated to effect the rotation of the rollers I), b from a shaft f supported in bearings at the top of the said standards (4 a through the medium of a train of three gear wheels f The said shaft f has connected thereto one member 7' of a friction clutch, the other member 7 of which is loose on the said shaft and is in the form of a pulley which is constantly rotated by a suitable belt and when pressed into contact with the member f effects the rotation of the rollers b, The members 7", 7" constitute the main clutch and have arrai'iged between them a spring g is the controlling lever pivoted at one end by a shaft to the standard (1, the the said shaft being provided with arms which engage holes in lugs g on a disc mounted loosely on the shaft 7 and bearing against the pulley 7'', so that, when the said lever 5 is rocked in one direction on its pivot, the member 7" of the main clutch will be pressed into contact with the other member i is the catch for holding the controlling lever r in position after it has effected the pressing together of the two members of the main clutch, the said catch which is piv oted at g to the standard a, engaging, under the pull of a spring a hooked projection on the lever j, the said lever being held in this position against the pull ofaspring g The coiling gear is designed to be intermittently driven and to enable this to be effected, we provide means for disengaging the catch. from the hook projection on the controlling lever 1. For this purpose, we provide the horizontal bar h slidably supported in aiguide h carried on the standards a, a and havlng rack teeth it in mesh with a pinion h as shown clearly in Figure 3, This pinion is rotatedby a clutch, preferably in the form or a split taperedsleeveh Figures 3,6 and Lt, titted within a central hole in the said pinion and formed on, or attached to, a gear-wheel it,

the latter meshing with a worm h on the shaft j and being carried iii a bearing in a piller it l/Vithin the split sleeve h is iitted a taper pin 72, designed to be'moved within the sleeve h so as to expand the latter into tight contact with the hole in the pinion it this movement being imparteclby a downward extension a on the controlling lever g. Whenthe pressure of the said ex- 7299, running over a pulley/r tension is removed from the pin h the sleeve ll/ will contract and so become disengaged front. the pinion 72f.

The rack-bark is moved by the pinionft to disengage the catch 9 against the pull of a weight it through the medium'oit a cold It is a setscrew for determining the starting position i of the rack-bar 71, so that the durationoi the The coiled wire iaround the groovedinandrel c in the known movement-oi the said bar it to strike the catch 6/ can be varied according to the time at whichit is required to run the coiling gear and'consequently thelength of coil or strand produced. a

is iiedtroni the die a manner, the end otlithe said mandrel forming one surface 0 of a pair oii'cutting surfaces, the otherone c of which is movable and supported and carried by a lever actuated as hereinafter described. This lever is pivoted c to a bracket 0" carried on the frame at, the said bracket also serving for supporting the mandrel 0 v. t 2', i are the positioning horizontally, one above the other, with a space between them togrip each coil in turn of the fabric being made, the said rollers being located with their axes parallel to the axis oi the coiled wire lyingbetweenthe mandrel c and the coiling die c but out of line therewith and justbeyond the rear end of the mandrel 0 as indicated 111 Figure 1,

so that, say, after three coils of wire have been issued. from said mandrel succession and linked with one another, the third coil,

as indicated clearly in Figure 11, will be located between the positioning rollers '5, 6 so rollers arranged be termed spirally as hereinafter deseribech Figure 13 is a cross section of one of the positioning rollers in which fins are substituted for the ribs t, are the housings in which the rollers '11, i are carried on centrcs ii, these housings being hinged together as indicated at 15", Figure 9, and drawn towards one another by springs i attached at one end to lugs on the housing and at the other end to the base a 7 is the slide upon which the housings carrying the rollers i, 21 are mounted so that longitudinal movement can be imparted to the said rollers for positioningthe fabric so that the new or running coil is engaged with the coils already made atvthe proper point according to the class of fabric being made. This slide works in guides 7' on the frame a and is actu ated from a cam in the form oi a rib on a drum j through the medium of a lever i adj ustably pivoted to the t nine (6 at This cam is carried on a shaft is mounted in bearings 76 on the frame (rand driven by a wori'n-wheel 712 011 the shalt 1 15 from a worm carried on a shaft lc mounted in hearings in the standards al (1 Ellis shaft 70* carries a friction wheel designed to be driven from the pulley through the medium. of the friction roller it, which is broughtinto contact with both the belt on the pulley j and the wheel 70" by a pair of toggle levers /l:", M. 'lhese levers are slidably supported on i'ulcrum pins k" on the standard a and jointed together at 70 the outer end of the lever 12 carrying the roller is, whilst the outer end of the lever it is pivoted to the controlling lever 1 will thus be seen that when the ('OIliIL'Olllng" lever is moved upwardly it disengages the main-clutch members and j and at the same time moves the "friction roller is into contact w1th the driving belt 1 surrounding the pulley and thus drives the wheel k and consequently rotates the canrdrum For rotating the positioning rollers i, i thelower roller 2' is provided at its front end with ratchet teeth Z, as shown clearly in Fig ure 11, corresponding in number with the ribs c' thereon, so'that the said roller can be fed or rotated one rib at a time in order to displace the coiled fabric laterally, one coil at a time. l a pawl engaging with the said ratchet teeth and carried on a short lever Z pivoted on one of the centres carrying the roller 2', the said lever being oscillated. by a pin 2'' on a bell crank lever Z actuated by a cam carried on the drum j, the said bell-crank lever being 'lulcrumed on the if antic a by a shaft Z which also carries an arm Z This arm 2', through the medium of a pin Z rocks another arm on, to impart movement to a bar m resting on the table A whichbar forms a guide tor the running coil and assists the rollers i, i to feed the fabric after each coil is inserted. This feeding movement is eilected simultaneously with the feed movement of the said rollers 2', 2' through the movement of the said arms Z Z from the bell-crank lever Z", the arm inbeing i'ulcrurned on a shafton carrving upstanding arms or which bear against one side of the bar m and actuate the latter to feed the fabric against the pull of tension springs m n is the cam for effecting the severing the coils, after being run on to the table 'l by means of the cutting surfaces 0 c. cam actuates a le er a Figure 8, fulcrumed at n to the bracket 0 and bearing upon a lug n on an upright rod 12* pivoted at n to the lever 0 The rod a slides and is guided in hole in the frame a and is pressed upwardly in contact with the lever 11 by a spring n.

In order to keep the running coil in con tact with the bar m we employ an electromagnet on, the faces of the pole-pieces in of which are level with the guide surface of the said bar m This magnet is energized, each time a coil is run into the fabric, by a switch in the form of a drum of carried upon the shalt 1: and having a pair of contacts m with which a brush m in electrical connection with one terminal of the magnet makes contact twice in each revolution or the shaft 70. These contacts m in permanent electrical connection by a brush 172/ with one pole of a source of current the other pole of which is in electrical connection with the other terminal of the magnet.

0 is a cam for automatically effecting the movement of the controlling lever g to throw in the main clutch to drivethe coiling gear and stop the rotation of the camshaft 7). This cam actuates a lever 0 fulcrumed at 0 to a lug on the frame and connected a its upper end by a rod 0" to a lever 0 pivoted at 0 to the standard of, the cam 0 moving the rod 0 against the pressure oil a spring 0 located between the end of the said rod 0 and a racket 0 attached to the frame a. This lever 0*, until actuated by the cum 0, presses against the taper pin 2) of a clutch mechanism similar to that described in connection with the pinion 715. This pin 10 is located in a hole formed in one end of the shaft f, the said end being split and formed taper to lit the pin 29 and has littcd on its outer surface a loose sleeve 39 to whichis attached a cord p carrying at its lower end a weight 22, shown clearly in Figure 12. Below the weight 37 is arranged a lever 32* hinged to the floor 22 or to a suitable part of the machine, and connected by a cord or wire p to the outer end of the controlling lever g. The pressure of the sprin 0 causes the pin 12 to expand the split end or" the shaft f to grip the sleeve 10 and, assuming that the cord 29 is Wound upon the sleeve, as indicated in the d swings, and the cam 0 be caused to actuate the lever o to relieve the pressure on the pin 1), the friction between the split end of the shaft f and the sleeve p will c msequently be relieved, and allow theliitter, under the influence oi the weight p, to be revolved so that the weight will be lowered and strike the lever 11, which, through the medium oi the cord 1), will lower the controlling lever 9 against the pull of the spring g and connect the members of the main clutch so that motion is imparted i'c the ceiling gear, the said lever g being held in the lowered position by the engagement of the ca tch with the hooked extension g 15 the lever for starting the machine, which lever is of bell-crank torn] pivoted at to the upper part of the standard a and in the stopied position bears against the controlling lever g and holds it in an iu termodiate position, as indicated in l igurc 5, in which the roller it is out ol contact with the belt 7". The said lever g is proiided witn a stop-pin Q2 which, in the said stopped position, holds the catch 5 in such a pos tion that it ?L1l1]10t engage with the hooked extension By moving the said lover o to the dotted line position in the 5, it will be seen that the con- 5 will be free to rise under the pull of spring f, so that the toggle levers c will be moved. to cause the friction roller is to engage with the pulley belt f and wheel 0 thereby ell'ectin l the rot Z: and causing the cam tation of the sliar o to move the lever 0 to role-use the weight 273 and through the medium of the lever 22' and cord 2) to lower the controlling lever int eng' cement with the catch g. The shaft Z: will thus cease rotating on the disengagement of the roller E?" with the wheel 1 and, belt f", and the pulley f will be caused to engage with the member 7" so that the coiling gear will be rotated to deliver a r11 ing coil on to the table The st; rug lever held in the dotted lined position bf. a pivote latch 1' against the pull of a tension spring ,f, the said hitch having a notch r in which engages a projection 0' on the starting lever so that it is necessary, whcn stopping the machine, that the latch r be lifted in order that the starting lever 9 may be drawn to the .i'ull line position und r the lllllll0ll(0 of the spring This stopping operation is also automatically cllected it the wire being coiled should issue from the coilingmccini nism deformed, and for this purpose we cm ploy a solenoid s, the core s of which is coin nected by a rod to the latch 7 and a stud s is mounted on the standard a but insulated therefrom and which is in electrical connection with one pole of a source of current as indicated in Figure 5. The starting lever g is provided with an insulated contact piece which, when the said lever solenoid is connected to the other pole of the source of current whilst the other terminal is connected to the frame, as indicated.

Assuming the machine to be running, the leveng being in the dotted line position, if the wire being coiled should become deformed so that it touches the shield 0", current will circulate through the stud e, the contact on the lever g, the wire a the said shield, the coiling die 0 and the frame (0 to the solenoid s so that the core 8 will be sucked into the latter and lift the lever r.

In the drawings we have shown all. the cams as formed with two cam surfaces diametrically opposite one another, sothat each cam will functiontwice during one revolution of the shaft 70. The arrangement also applies to the drum m For the production by the machine of a one ply plain single weave fabric as indicated in Figure 16, assume that two coils t and t have been successively delivered by the coiling mechanism, the first one a being positioned by hand to allow the proper engagement therewith of the other coil t in the known manner,'and assume the two coils I to have been moved laterally so that the positioning rollers z, i engage with the coil 7; 111 the manner lndlcatcd 1n Figure 11 whereby the said 0011 t and the 0011 t are securely held against movement, the cut ends of the twocoils being in the position indicated with relation to the cutting surfaces 0 o As sume, now, that the machine is running and that the coiling mechanism has again clelivered a coil or strand of wire from the mandrel 0 as indicated by the dotted lines at 25 Figure 16, the rack bar it having made contact with the catch g so as to release the controlling lever g and consequently disengage the parts of the main clutch and stop the coiling gear and at the same time commence the rotation of the cam shaft it. By referring to Figure 8, it will be seen that the said shaft rotating in the direction of the arrow, one of the cam surfaces on the cam 12, will operate the lever a to effect the cutting of the coiled wire by the cutting surfaces 0 0*. The positioning rollers 71, i will now be caused to rotate by one of the cam surfaces Z, to feed the fabric the distance of one coil to the right and afterwards to be positioned or moved longitudinally to correspondingly move the fabric towards the cutting surfaces 0 0 so that the coils 13, 25 23 take up the position indicated in Figure 17, in which position the coil is in the correct position to receive the next running coil, it being rigidly held by a pair of the opposed ribs 2' on the rollers i, i The next feeding and positioning movementof the rollers 1i, i will move the fabric away from the cutting surface 0, o into position to receive the next coil-and so on, the resultant fabric being indicated clearly in Figure 15. To assist in maintaining the coils in their proper relative positions longitudinally, the

first five coils, say, are pierced by the teeth a of a horizontal comb connected by a frame if to the lower housing The order of action of the cams for producing the fabric shown in Figure 15 isindicated diagrann matically in Figure 18, the earns a, Z, and 0 acting, respectively, to effect the cutting off of each coil, the partial rotation or feed movement of the rollers 1,2 The longitudinal movement of the latter and the releasing of the weight Q93 to stop the cams and start the coiling mechanism, thesemovements taking place twice durii'ig the rotation of the shaft 7c.

in the drawings it will be noticed that the fabrics therein shown are made of single ply that is of one wire only for each coil, but it is to be understood that two or more wires can be employed for each coil.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention and in what mannerthe same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is 1. A machine of the kind hereinbefore referred. to for the manufacture of coiled wire fabrics, comprising coiling mechanism grooved rollers for gripping and positioning the fabric, rollers being arranged with their axes one above the other and in such a position with respect to the coiling mechanism that the last made coil or strand, with which the running in coil engages, is next to the coil gripped by the said rollers and is held rigid by such gripping action and are provided means are provided for supporting the running in coil when engaging the said last made coil.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1, including means for assisting in feeding the fabric in correspondence with the rotary feed movement of the grooved rollers in the event of the latter not extending the full length of the fabric and further means for guiding each running in coil into position with respect to such auxiliary feeding means.

an machine as claimed in claim 1, including means for assisting in feeding the fabric in correspondence with the rotary feed movement of the grooved rollers in the event of the latter not extending the full length of the fabric and further means, including an electro-magnet, for guiding each running in coil into position with respect to such auxiliary feeding means.

{h- A machine of the kind claimed in claim 1, wherein a comb is employed having the pitch of its teeth corresponding with that of the turns of the wire coils and passing between the grooved positioning rollers in engagement with a series of the said coils.

5. Ina machine as claimed in claim 1, gear mechanism for operating the feedrollers for the ceiling mechanism, the said gear mechanism being controlled by a clutch actuated by an intermittently operated controlling lever for feeding the wire to the coiling mechanism.

6. A machine as claimed in claim 1, gear mechanism for operating the feed rollers for the ceiling mechanism, the said gear mechanism being controlled by a clutch actuated by an intermittently operated controlling lever for feeding the wire to the coiling mechanism, means whereby the controlling lever is held in position for effecting the coiling of the wire and wherein timing mechanism is employed whereby the said lever is released when a sufrlcient length 03": wire has been coiled.

7 A machine as claimed in claim 1, gear mechanism for operating the feed rollers for the ceiling mechanism, the said gear mechanism being controlled by a clutch actuated by an intermittently operated controlling lever for feeding the wire to the coiling mechanism, means whereby the controlling lever is held in position for effecting the ceiling of the wire and wherein timing mechanism is employed whereby the said lever is released when a sullicient length of wire has been coiled, means operated by a "falling weight to move the controlling lever to start the coiling mechanism, cams on a shaft for etl'ecting the operations of: severing each coil, for imparting rotary and longitudinal movement to the positioning rollers and releasin the said weight, means operated by one oi the shafts of the coiling mechanism, teed wheels to lift the weight so that the controlling lever is moved after being released from the holding means; and means whereby such movement of the controlling lever efl'ects the rotation of said cam shaft.

8. In a machine as claimed in claim 7, the combination with the controlling lever of a stopping and starting lever designed when in the stopping position to hold the said controlling lever in a position in which the clutch mechanism and "friction roller controlled thereby are disengaged and also to disengage the means for holding the controlling lever whilst the wire is being coiled, substantially as described.

HENRY ARTHUR FRASER. PETER FREDERICK CRIGHTON.

@ertificate of fiorrectiono It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,431,645, granted October 10, 1922, upon the application of Henry Arthur Fraser and Peter Frederick Crighton, of London, England, for an improvement in WVeaving of Coiled Wire Fabrics and Machines Therefor, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 5, lines 112 and 113 claim 1, strike out the Words are provided, both occurrences; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction thereinthat the same ma y conform to the record of the case in the Patent Ofice.

Signed and sealed this 2d day of September, A. D. 19%.

[emit] KARL FENNING, Acting ommz'ssz'oncr of Patents. 

